American Rapture (Hardcover)

Description

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The instant USA Today bestseller from CJ Leede, author of Maeve Fly—a scorching and sweeping new novel about the end of the world as we know it.

One of Esquire and Vulture's Best Horror Books of 2024 • A GoodReads and Publishers Weekly Editors' Pick • An Indie Next Pick!

“A blistering, feverish ride through a uniquely American apocalypse."—Chuck Wendig, New York Times bestselling author

A virus is spreading across America, transforming the infected and making them feral with lust.

Sophie, a good Catholic girl, must traverse the hellscape of the midwest to try to find her family while the world around her burns. Along the way she discovers there are far worse fates than dying a virgin…

The end times are coming.

Also by CJ Leede:
Maeve Fly

About the Author

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CJ LEEDE is a horror writer, hiker, and Trekkie. She is the author of Maeve Fly and American Rapture. Her debut novel Maeve Fly won the Golden Poppy Octavia E. Butler Award and Splatterpunk Award, and earned a Bram Stoker Award nomination. When she is not driving around the country, CJ can be found in LA with her boyfriend and rescue dogs.

Praise For…

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"The themes here are heady, the book is brutally violent, and, as with her previous novel, Maeve Fly, Leede doesn’t pull a single punch. It’s also touching, and funny, and sad."
—Emily C. Hughes, Vulture

"Though it’s a horrific premise...Leede never allows the story to descend into titillation or exploitation... American Rapture is both a taboo-shredding nightmare and a sex-positive coming-of-age story."
—Neil McRobert, Esquire

“A blistering, feverish ride through a uniquely American apocalypse. Leede crafts a deeply compelling descent through an unraveling heartland. Sure to rattle the cages of our Puritanical nightmare country.”
—Chuck Wendig, New York Times bestselling author of The Book of Accidents

“A riveting, sprawling, staggeringly brilliant novel about the horrors of shame and repression and sexual violence and moral panics. American Rapture is a riotous scream and an emotional ode to anyone who has ever hidden their true self under their mattress. Blood-soaked, heart-wrenching, grim and glorious. Leede is a singular talent.”
—Rachel Harrison, national bestselling author of Black Sheep

“A bold, fiercely sharp, and deeply unsettling reimagining of the zombie apocalypse genre, which Leede crafts with equal parts anger and unwavering empathy.”
—Chuck Tingle, USA Today bestselling author of Camp Damascus

“An adrenaline rush of a novel... Seamlessly slips thought-provoking themes in alongside the novel's high-octane propulsion.”
—Shelf Awareness, STARRED review

“Leede combines an end-of-the-world story with a new twist on zombies. Those who loved Leede’s style in her debut, Maeve Fly, will enjoy this grimly complicated story.”
—Library Journal

"Full of action, gore, and heartbreak, this book will appease postapocalyptic-fiction fans looking for a fresh title to scratch the horror itch."
—Booklist

"With a heart as innocent as that of its heroine, American Rapture is a brave book, a daring book, and most of all, a timely book. It's terrifying because it's true. Kudos to CJ Leede."
—Alma Katsu, author of The Fervor

“Leede masterfully eases readers into a taut horror plot in her standout sophomore outing...plenty of page-turning suspense, and this proves hard to put down.”
—Publishers Weekly, STARRED review

"In Leede's wholly possible American Armageddon, closed minds, cheese curds, and right-wing radio threaten to burn the whole shining city upon a hill to the ground. Cinematic, visceral, reflective, and palpable, American Rapture keeps you staying up late, hand on page ready to turn before you’re done with the one you’re on, and thinking about it for days on end when you finish. Bravo."
—Ted Van Alst, co-editor of national bestseller Never Whistle at Night

“American Rapture has its finger on the bloody, fevered pulse, fearlessly addressing notions of love, sex, faith, redemption, individuality. You won’t read anything else like it.”
—Keith Rosson, author of Fever House

"A masterful, apocalyptic fever dream. Leede has the singular ability to make your skin crawl while you're bawling your eyes out. Americana horror at its finest."
—Liz Kerin, author of Night's Edge

“Forget the zombies you know! Leede’s American Rapture is a brutally fresh take on the apocalypse genre. Leede blends heart and horror, taking readers on an utterly bonkers and horrific ride. Buckle up.”
—Jimmy Juliano, author of Dead Eleven

“American Rapture is frantic and tender, frightening and thoughtful, an ode to discovery, acceptance and unconditional love, and a scathing indictment of the close-minded and bigoted.”
—BookReporter

"Leede plunges readers deep into an all-too-real apocalyptic nightmare."
—This Is Horror